- Importers Seek Urgent Ministerial Intervention as Dispute Over GH¢720 Container Charge Deepens
The Importers and Exporters Association of Ghana is seeking urgent government intervention in an escalating dispute over container charges at the country’s ports, warning that alleged breaches of a regulatory ceiling by some shipping lines could raise trade costs and undermine efforts to position Ghana as a competitive logistics gateway in West Africa.
The Association wants the Minister for Transport to convene an emergency meeting involving the Ghana Shippers’ Authority, shipping companies, shipping agents, freight forwarders, importers, exporters and other port stakeholders to resolve disagreements surrounding the Container Administrative Charge, also referred to as the local handling charge.
At the centre of the dispute is a GH¢720 per Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit ceiling for import and export containers.
The limit followed intervention by the Transport Minister and was subsequently reinforced by the Ghana Shippers’ Authority as part of efforts to contain port charges and provide greater certainty to businesses operating through Ghana’s ports.
The IEAG said reports that some shipping lines and agents were continuing to impose charges above the approved ceiling risked increasing the cost of doing business at a time when Ghana is attempting to improve the competitiveness of its trade infrastructure.
“The IEAG is concerned that reports of some shipping lines continuing to impose charges above the approved ceiling have the potential to increase the cost of doing business at Ghana’s ports, create uncertainty for importers and exporters, and undermine ongoing efforts to make the country’s ports more competitive,” the Association said.
Shipping companies and logistics operators must recover operating costs and maintain commercially viable services, while government and regulators face pressure to prevent port charges from becoming an additional burden on businesses and consumers.
The revised Container Administrative Charge had initially been scheduled to take effect on May 1 before implementation was postponed to July 1 to allow further stakeholder consultations.
Pending a final determination, the Transport Minister directed that the charge should not exceed GH¢720 per TEU.
The regulatory position was later reinforced when an Accra High Court dismissed an application for an interlocutory injunction seeking to prevent enforcement of the Ghana Shippers’ Authority directive.
That left the May 11 directive operational and strengthened the regulator’s hand in dealing with shipping lines and agents that fail to comply.
The IEAG nevertheless argues that the continued disagreement requires direct intervention before it develops into a wider disruption of cargo movement.
“We respectfully appeal to the Honorable Minister for Transport to convene an urgent stakeholder meeting involving the Ghana Shippers’ Authority, shipping lines, shipping agents, freight forwarders, importers and exporters, and other relevant port stakeholders to resolve the impasse,” it said.
For import-dependent businesses, port and shipping charges become part of the landed cost of goods and raw materials.
Higher charges can therefore filter through distribution networks and manufacturing supply chains, eventually affecting wholesale and retail prices.
Businesses operating on relatively thin margins may find that additional logistics charges weaken their ability to compete in international markets, particularly where rival producers operate through ports with lower handling costs.
The Ghana Shippers’ Authority has argued that its intervention could save businesses about GH¢802.50 million, while improving transparency and predictability by denominating the charge in Ghana cedis.
A ceiling that exists formally but is applied inconsistently could leave different importers paying different charges for comparable services, undermining the certainty businesses need when pricing shipments and planning inventory.
The issue is also significant for Ghana’s wider trade ambitions.
The country wants Tema and Takoradi to serve not only domestic commerce but also transit trade into neighbouring landlocked economies.
Port users will increasingly compare Ghana’s charges, clearance times and reliability against alternative regional gateways when deciding where cargo should enter West Africa.
The IEAG has meanwhile widened its concerns beyond the GH¢720 charge. The Association has raised alarm over container congestion at the Port of Tema, arguing that accumulated containers are contributing to congestion inside the port enclave and on surrounding roads.
It wants the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority to consider converting selected spaces currently leased to private businesses into additional container terminal facilities when those leases expire.
The argument is that greater terminal capacity could improve container evacuation, speed cargo handling and reduce pressure on road infrastructure around Tema.
The Association has previously urged major shipping lines with regular vessel calls to ensure empty containers are evacuated quickly enough to prevent them from accumulating within the port system.
Security has also entered the debate as Ghana attempts to expand round-the-clock economic activity.
The IEAG is calling for stronger security arrangements around the ports following what it described as an isolated attack involving transporters and people engaged in cargo offloading.
Reliable security, it argues, will become increasingly important if the government’s 24-hour economy programme is to translate into continuous port and logistics operations.
The Association has called on the Ghana Revenue Authority to strengthen payment and digital systems after what it described as a week-long disruption to government digital services at the ports.
In a customs environment where clearance processes are increasingly digitised, outages can delay cargo, expose traders to additional storage costs and disrupt supply chains even when physical port capacity remains available.
At the same time, the IEAG has reaffirmed support for the Publican Artificial Intelligence Trade Solution, saying the technology has improved customs valuation and revenue mobilisation.
According to the Association, more than 366,000 import declarations had been analysed through the system, while assessed customs collections increased by more than US$300 million between the pilot stage and the rollout period ending July 17, 2026.
The IEAG, however, wants stronger safeguards for legitimate businesses, including improvements to the valuation database, deeper engagement with traders and a more effective appeals mechanism for importers disputing customs valuations.
Taken together, the interventions point to a wider policy question about how Ghana measures port performance.
Revenue collection remains important, but competitiveness increasingly depends on whether goods can move through ports quickly, predictably and at internationally competitive cost.
The GH¢720 dispute has therefore become more than a disagreement over a single administrative fee.
It is emerging as a test of Ghana’s ability to enforce port regulation consistently while balancing shipping-industry viability, revenue mobilisation and the broader ambition of becoming an efficient regional trade and logistics hub.
